The IPL 2026 has wrapped up, but it has left behind a trail of performances that will be remembered in Indian T20 cricket for a long time. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stamped his status as one of the game’s standout talents by finishing with the Orange Cap, Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered a wicket haul that brought him 28 scalps, and Virat Kohli capped the campaign with an unbeaten knock in the final. Just two days after the title match—where Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru got the better of Gujarat Titans—Ravichandran Ashwin turned the spotlight back to the season by selecting his personal best XI from IPL 2026.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Ashwin named Rajasthan Royals’ Sooryavanshi as his first-choice opener. He paired him with Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill as the other opener, while making a notable adjustment in the batting order for Kohli. Despite opening for RCB, Kohli was placed at No. 3 in Ashwin’s XI. The former India batter finished the tournament with 675 runs, striking at an average of 56.25. Ashwin then slotted Heinrich Klaasen into the No. 4 position, rewarding his 624-run season. For the middle overs, Ashwin handed the No. 5 and No. 6 roles to Rajat Patidar and Nitish Reddy respectively.
Patidar’s numbers stood out for Ashwin because he amassed 500 runs at a strike rate of 192.69, while Reddy added impact both with the bat and ball—scoring 300 runs and taking eight wickets. Krunal Pandya, the RCB spin-bowling all-rounder, also made Ashwin’s top seven, contributing 14 wickets and adding 226 runs with the bat. With the batting structure in place, Ashwin’s XI took on a clear bowling identity as well.
For the bowling unit, Ashwin included three overseas names: Jamie Overton, Sunil Narine and Kagiso Rabada. Completing the XI, he chose Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the final pick after the pacer’s tournament-winning influence, which included 28 wickets. Ashwin also designated Jofra Archer as the impact player, keeping the balance between pace options and late-innings control.
Notably, Ashwin credited a cluster of players for how RCB managed to dominate their way to becoming champions in IPL 2026. He said he had picked five individuals who drove the team’s success most strongly, while also acknowledging the broader context of Gujarat Titans’ campaign. “RCB can even go on to achieve a three-peat. GT [Gujarat Titans] can be extremely proud of themselves, but for this run chase, I want to credit five people: Andy Flower, Mo Bobat, Dinesh Karthik and his support staff, Rajat Patidar, and Virat Kohli,” Ashwin said in his YouTube video.
